Grenoble ( ; ) or ; or is the prefecture and largest city of the Isère department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France.Commune de Grenoble (38185), INSEE It was the capital of the Dauphiné historical province and lies where the river Drac flows into the Isère at the foot of the French Alps.
The population of the commune of Grenoble was 156,140 as of 2023, while the population of the Grenoble metropolitan area (French: ) was 727,380 in 2023, which makes it the largest metropolis in the Alps, ahead of Innsbruck and Bolzano.Comparateur de territoire, INSEE A significant European scientific centre, the city advertises itself as the "Capital of the Alps", due to its size and its proximity to the mountains. The many suburban communes that make up the rest of the metropolitan area include four with populations exceeding 20,000: Saint-Martin-d'Hères, Échirolles, Fontaine and Voiron.Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017, INSEEAire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Grenoble (014), INSEE
Grenoble's history goes back over 2,000 years, to a time when it was a village of the Allobroges Gallic tribe. It became the capital of the Dauphiné in the 11th century. This status, consolidated by the annexation to France, allowed it to develop its economy. Grenoble then became a parliamentary and military city, close to the border with Savoy, which at the time was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Industrial development increased the prominence of Grenoble through several periods of economic expansion over the last three centuries. This started with a booming glove industry in the 18th and 19th centuries, continued with the development of a strong hydropower industry in the late 19th to early 20th centuries, and ended with a post-World War II economic boom symbolized by the holding of the X Olympic Winter Games in 1968.
The city has grown to be one of Europe's most important research, technology and innovation centres, with one in five inhabitants working directly in these fields. Grenoble was classified as a global city with the ranking of "sufficiency" by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network until 2024. The city held the title of European Green Capital in 2022.
History
Antiquity
The first references to what is now Grenoble date back to 43 BC. Cularo was at that time a village of the Allobroges Gallic tribe, near a bridge across the Isère. Three centuries later and with insecurity rising in the late Roman Empire, a strong wall was built around the small town in 286 AD.Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p18
The Emperor Gratian visited Cularo and, touched by the people's welcome, made the village a Roman city. In honour of this, Cularo was renamed Gratianopolis ("city of Gratian") in 381. Through regular historical sound shifts, this later became Graignovol during the Middle Ages, and this then became Grenoble.
Christianity spread to the region during the 4th century, and the diocese of Grenoble was founded in 377 AD. From that time on, the bishops exercised significant political power over the city. Until the French Revolution, they styled themselves the "bishops and princes of Grenoble".Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p. 40.
Middle Ages
After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the city became part of the first Burgundian kingdom in the 5th century and of the later Kingdom of Burgundy until 1032, when it was integrated into the Holy Roman Empire. The Burgundian rule was interrupted between 942 and 970 by Arab rule based in Fraxinet.
Grenoble grew significantly in the 11th century when the Counts of Albon chose the city as the capital of their territories. Their possessions at the time were a patchwork of several territories sprawled across the region,Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p. 9. and the central position of Grenoble allowed the Counts to strengthen their authority. When they later adopted the title of "Dauphins", Grenoble became the capital of the State of Dauphiné.
Despite their status, the Counts had to share authority over the city with the Bishop of Grenoble. One of the most famous of those was Saint Hugh. Under his rule, the city's bridge was rebuilt, and a regular and leper hospital was built.Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p. 27.
The inhabitants of Grenoble took advantage of the conflicts between the Counts and the bishops and obtained the recognition of a Charter of Customs that guaranteed their rights.Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p. 32. That charter was confirmed by Kings Louis XI in 1447 and Francis I in 1541.
In 1336, the last Dauphin Humbert II founded a court of justice, the , which settled at Grenoble in 1340. He also established the University of Grenoble in 1339. Without an heir and deep into debt, Humbert sold his state to France in 1349, on the condition that the heir to the French crown used the title of Dauphin. The first one, the future Charles V, spent nine months in Grenoble. The city remained the capital of the Dauphiné, henceforth a province of France, and the Estates of Dauphiné were created.
The only Dauphin who governed his province was the future Louis XI, whose "reign" lasted from 1447 to 1456. It was only under his rule that Dauphiné properly joined the Kingdom of France. The Old Conseil Delphinal became a Parlement (the third in France after the Parliaments of Paris and Toulouse), strengthening the status of Grenoble as a Provincial capital. He also ordered the construction of the Palais du Parlement (finished under Francis I) and ensured that the Bishop pledged allegiance, thus unifying the political control of the city.Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p. 58.
At that time, Grenoble was a crossroads between Vienne, Geneva, Italy, and Savoy. It was the industrial centre of the Dauphiné and the province's biggest city, but a rather small one.
Renaissance
Owing to Grenoble's geographical situation, French troops were garrisoned in the city and its region during the Italian Wars. Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I went several times to Grenoble. Its people consequently had to suffer from the exactions of the soldiers.
The nobility of the region took part in various battles (Marignano, Pavia) and in doing so gained significant prestige.Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p78 The best-known of its members was Bayard, "the knight without fear and beyond reproach".
Grenoble suffered as a result of the French Wars of Religion. The Dauphiné was indeed an important settlement for Protestants and therefore experienced several conflicts. The baron des Adrets, the leader of the Huguenots, pillaged the Cathedral of Grenoble and destroyed the tombs of the former Dauphins.
In August 1575, Lesdiguières became the new leader of the Protestants and, thanks to the accession of Henry IV to the throne of France, allied himself with the governor and the lieutenant general of the Dauphiné. But this alliance did not bring an end to the conflicts. Indeed, a Catholic movement, the Ligue, which took Grenoble in December 1590, refused to make peace. After months of assaults, Lesdiguières defeated the Ligue and took back Grenoble. He became the leader of the entire province.Petite Histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p88
Lesdiguières became the lieutenant-general of the Dauphiné and administered the Province from 1591 to 1626. He began the construction of the Bastille to protect the city and ordered the construction of new walls, increasing the city's size. He also constructed the Hôtel Lesdiguières, built new fountains, and dug sewers.Histoire de Grenoble, Vidal Chaumel, Éditions Privat, p.68,123,126,223
In 1689, the bishop Étienne Le Camus launched the construction of Saint-Louis Church.
From Louis XIV to the French Revolution
The revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV caused the departure of 2,000 Protestants from Grenoble, weakening the city's economy.Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p97 However, it also weakened the competing glove industry of Grasse, leaving the glove factories of Grenoble without any competition.Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p98 This allowed a stronger economic development for the city during the 18th century. At the beginning of that century, only 12 glovers made 180,000 gloves each year; by 1787, 64 glovers made 1,920,000 gloves each year.
The city gained some notoriety on 7 June 1788 when the townspeople assaulted troops of Louis XVI in the "Day of the Tiles". The people attacked the royal troops to prevent an expulsion of the notables of the city, which would have seriously endangered the economic prosperity of Grenoble. Following these events, the Assembly of Vizille took place. Its members organized the meeting of the old Estates General, thus beginning the French Revolution. During the Revolution, Grenoble was represented in Paris by two illustrious notables, Jean Joseph Mounier and Antoine Barnave.
In 1790, the Dauphiné was divided into three departments, and Grenoble became the chef-lieu of the Isère department. Only two refractory priests were executed at Grenoble during the Reign of Terror. Pope Pius VI, prisoner of France, spent two days at Grenoble in 1799 before going to Valence where he died at 81 six weeks after his arrival.
19th century
The establishment of the Empire was overwhelmingly approved (in Isère, the results showed 82,084 yes and only 12 no).Petite Histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p115 Grenoble held for the second time a prisoner Pope in 1809, when Pius VII spent 10 days in the city en route to his exile in Fontainebleau.
In 1813, Grenoble was under threat from the Austrian army, which invaded Switzerland and Savoy. The well-defended city contained the Austrian attacks, and the French army defeated the Austrians, forcing them to withdraw at Geneva. However, the later invasion of France in 1814 resulted in the capitulation of the troops and the occupation of the city.
During his return from the island of Elba in 1815, Napoleon took a road that led him near Grenoble at Laffrey. There he met the Royalist Régiment d'Angoulême (former 5th) of Louis XVIII's Royal Army. Napoleon stepped toward the soldiers and said these famous words: "If there is among you a soldier who wants to kill his Emperor, here I am." The soldiers all joined his cause. After that, Napoleon was acclaimed at Grenoble and General Jean Gabriel Marchand could not prevent Napoleon from entering the city through the Bonne gate. He said later: "From Cannes to Grenoble, I still was an adventurer; in that last city, I came back a sovereign".Petite histoire du Dauphiné, Félix Vernay, 1933, p120 But after the defeat of Waterloo, the region suffered from a new invasion of Austrian and Sardinian troops.
The 19th century saw significant industrial development of Grenoble. The glove factories reached their Golden Age, and their products were exported to the United States, the United Kingdom, and Russia.L'histoire de l'Isère en BD, Tome 5, Gilbert Bouchard, 2004
General Haxo transformed the Bastille fortress, which took on its present aspect between 1824 and 1848. The Second Empire saw the construction of the French railway network, and the first trains arrived at Grenoble in 1858. Shortly thereafter Grenoble experienced widespread destruction by extensive flooding in 1859.
In 1869, engineer Aristide Bergès played a major role in industrializing hydroelectricity production. With the development of his paper mills, he accelerated the economic development of the Grésivaudan valley and Grenoble.